The Temple of Edfu & Elephantine Island & Connections to Jesus

Video from Brien Foerster

The Temple of Edfu & Elephantine Island & Connections to Jesus

The Rarely Visited Ancient Complex Of Edfu Near The Nile In Egypt

"The Temple of Edfu is the second largest temple in Egypt. It is also known as the Temple of Horus (the falcon-headed God) and it is the most beautiful and well-preserved of all the Egyptian temples. Located between the Egyptian cities Luxor and Aswan, a French archaeologist by the name of Auguste Mariette uncovered it from its sand burial in the 1860s..." from the article: The Temple of Edfu

Edfu is about 85 miles from the island of Elephantine where Jesus may have been taken as a infant.

The Jews of Elephantine Island

Video from NWTV

"The rocky islands of the First Cataract of the Nile at Aswan hold a secret - the story of the forgotten Jewish garrison who guarded Egypt's frontier under the Persians. The documents they left tell a tale of racial and religious hatred and of political intrigue that extended as far as Jerusalem. The desire of the women to ensure that their husbands couldn't easily divorce them reveals the answers to problems of chronology. Historical detection has never been so fascinating!" from video introduction.

"Many people have wondered where in Egypt Jesus’ parents took Him in order to escape the Murder of the Innocents in Bethlehem ordered by Herod the Great.

There are several theories. Elephantine: Elephantine is an island in the Nile in Upper Egypt (which is southern Egypt) where Nubia begins. There was a Jewish military settlement on Elephantine many hundreds of years before Jesus was born, and it continued in some state or another for a long time. Amazingly, the Jews of Elephantine obtained permission from Jerusalem to build a temple (and you thought there was only one). There are traditions in Egypt that Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Elephantine for safety and to be in a Jewish community...from the Article: Where Did Mary and Joseph Take Jesus in Egypt

Out of Egypt I Called My Son

"Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:13-15)

That last verse has caused lots of consternation. The Holy Family goes to Egypt, and this somehow fulfills Hosea’s reference to Israel’s exodus? As I mentioned last week, at first glance it looks like Matthew is connecting the dots by the slimmest of connections.

Here’s what we read in Hosea 11:1-4:

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.

Clearly, Hosea, speaking for the Lord, is harkening back to the Exodus. He is remembering when Israel was just a little toddler of a nation and God delivered them out of bondage in Egypt. “Many years ago, by Moses and the plagues and all that, I called my son Israel out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery”–that’s what Hosea 11 is about.." from the article: Out of Egypt I Called My Son

#extraordinarygod